Top lawyer claims 'outrageous' Palestine Action terror sentencing would be a 'miscarriage of justice'
One of the UK’s most prominent human rights lawyers has told LBC the sentencing of four Palestine Activists as terrorists would be a “miscarriage of justice”.
Listen to this article
Michael Mansfield KC, who’s been called the “King of human rights law”, is best known for his work on cases such as Stephen Lawrence’s murder and the Grenfell Tower fire.
He’s now turned his attention to the sentencing of four people who broke into Elbit Systems UK near Bristol in 2024 – known as the “Filton Four”.
In an unprecedented move, the judge overseeing the case, Mr Justice Johnson agreed before the trial began that there could be a ’terrorist connection’ to the offences - an argument presented by prosecutors, but that this information could not be presented to the jury.
Mr Mansfield told LBC the fact that the activists, who were convicted of criminal damage, could now be sentenced as terrorists would be “a miscarriage of justice”.
“If a court is going to sentence somebody for something which has a terrorist connection, they have to have been charged with it.”
He is among dozens of lawyers who have now co-signed a letter which states “sentencing the ‘Filton 4’ as terrorists would violate basic legal principals”.
Read more: Palestine Action activists behind £1m Elbit damage could be sentenced as 'terrorists'
The letter says: “On 12 June, the Crown Prosecution Service will apply to have four young people (Charlotte Head, Leona Kamio, Fatema Zainab Rajwani and Samuel Corner) sentenced as terrorists, solely on the basis of their convictions for criminal damage to drones.
“This is the first time, in British legal history, that such an application has been made on the basis of criminal damage.
“If the prosecution application is successful, the group's jail sentences will be extended, early release provisions disapplied, and upon eventual release they could be licensed as terrorists for up to 15 years, requiring them to register any new device, bank account, email, or relationship with the police.
It comes as one of the Palestine Action activists who took part in a break-in at Elbit Systems UK’s site, but was cleared of any wrongdoing during a retrial, has defended the group’s actions, claiming they ’saved lives’.
Jordan Devlin told LBC, “I’m not just saying this to excuse myself - I do think we’ve saved lives”.
The 32-year-old claims to have felt compelled to take part in the break-in due to the war in Gaza, saying not acting “is the equivalent of people who did nothing in World War II”.
The break-in in August 2024 saw an estimated one million pounds worth of damage done by activists associated with Palestine Action, which was not proscribed at the time but is now considered to be a terrorist organisation.
Mr Devlin told LBC: “We were in a prison van, crashed through some of the chain link fences, then crashed into the shutters of this Israeli weapons factory.
“And, you know, it took two goes because there was a fork truck in the way. There's like that initial bit of exhilaration of, oh, what I'm about to do is quite wild. But then in the actual factory, I was surprisingly cool as a cucumber. I was like, I have absolute confidence that what I'm doing here is the right thing.”
In a statement, the Elbit Systems UK said, “any claims that our Bristol facility supplies the Israeli military or Israeli Ministry of Defence are completely false and we will continue to do everything possible to protect our employees, who perform a vital role in delivering advanced technology to the British Armed Forces”.
Mr Devlin claims it isn’t as simple as that: “whenever we give like, £2 billion contracts to Elbit Systems UK, you don't think some of that money is going to Israel? You know, we're literally funnelling British taxpayer money to another country via this company and they're repurposing that to basically bolster their war machine”.
Elbit Systems describes itself as a “leading global defence technology company”, which leverages “Israel’s technology ecosystem”.
Mr Devlin was arrested and later charged with aggravated burglary, violent disorder and criminal damage. During his first trial, alongside co-defendants Charlotte Head, Leona Kamio, Zoe Rogers, Fatema Rajwani and Samuel Corner, he was acquitted of aggravated burglary – but the jury could not come to a decision on all counts, which triggered a retrial.
At that re-trial, Jordan Devlin and Zoe Rogers were acquitted while the others were found guilty of criminal damage. Samuel Corner was also found not guilty of grievous bodily harm with intent, after he hit a female police sergeant with a sledgehammer during the break-in, but he was found guilty of the lesser offence of inflicting grievous bodily harm.
After the verdicts were returned, Judge Jeremy Johnson revealed the Filton Four could all receive tougher than usual sentences. It is that decision which top lawyer Michael Mansfield KC claims is “outrageous”.
Usually, the maximum sentence for criminal damage is 10 years but today all eyes will be on whether Mr Justice Johnson decides to draw on those harsher sentencing powers, despite the jury never having been told of this possibility.
Although he has never been charged with terrorism, Jordan Devlin says he was arrested “using counter terrorism powers”. He told LBC “100% of my phone calls, they just straight up tell you we're listening into everything you say actively.”
A Prison Service spokesperson said: “Prisoners’ calls are routinely recorded and monitored for security purposes, which they are made aware of ahead of time”.
In February 2026 the Government’s proscription of Palestine Action was ruled to be unlawful by the High Court. The Home Office challenged this decision and the judgment on their appeal is expected on Monday 15th June, just three days after Head, Kamio, Corner and Rajwani could be sentenced as terrorists.
A spokesperson for the Home Office told LBC: “The proscription of Palestine Action was the result of a clear and rigorous process, based on the latest intelligence and an in-depth assessment by the Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre.”
A spokesperson for Elbit Systems UK said: “Elbit Systems UK is a British defence company that provides highly-skilled career opportunities to hundreds of people across the UK, delivering a broad range of modern, innovative equipment and services to the Royal Navy, the British Army, the Royal Air Force, European customers and NATO partners.
“We deplore the violent and reckless behaviour of this group, which for over half a decade has seriously endangered both the safety of people who work in the defence industries and members of the emergency services called on to respond to incidents.
“This campaign of violence and intimidation has been supported by a determined campaign of misinformation, carried in media interviews and news reports, which aims to recruit individuals and justify their criminal actions.
A judicial spokesperson said: “Judicial independence and impartiality are fundamental to the rule of law. Upon taking office, judges take the judicial oath where they swear to act ‘without fear or favour, affection or ill will’.
In each case, judges make decisions based on the evidence and arguments presented to them and apply the law as it stands.
“Judges and magistrates sentence according to the law set by Parliament and the sentencing guidelines set by the independent Sentencing Council, as well as the facts of each case which may have aggravating or mitigating factors.”